Friday Freedom : 26th Sept 2014

Friday Freedom : 26th Sept 2014

Minimalism


Skywatch Friday

The 10 things I must do before I die ........



The 10 things 

I must do 

before I die ........







1. Visit London, to watch Wimbledon final and to watch cricket match on Lords (One team must be Australia) 






2. complete the 9000+ Km long journey by Trans-Siberian railway, from Moscow to Vladivostok.




3. Visit North Canada and Arctic to spend months in Photographing the beauty.


4.Rebuild my farmhouse with all the required amenities, Gadgets, Garden, and Library so as to spend the retired life in reading and writing !



5. Increase no. of titles in my library to 10000, currently it has 1000+


6. Own a Honda SUV


7. Start online photography business and exhibit my work in some the well known gallery





8. Photograph all the butterfly species recorded in Indian subcontinent.





9. Travel the different parts of India by road.





10. Buy all apple products !





11. Bonus: Study law and pass LL.B.




This post is a part of IndiSpire, initiative for Indian Bloggers by IndiBlogger.
IndiSpire topic of the week: Post about your Bucket List - The ten things you must do before you die #LifeDeathBucketList.
Deadline is now over. Couldn't submit in time. :-(



I am blue : Thursday Challenge


I am blue : Thursday Challenge


Dragonfly at NIT Rourkela campus


Thursday Challenge: Blue




Miles away from the safe place!


Miles away from the safe place!


  Sun eager to touch down the horizon and so did the villagers of Mitikundri.
The other bank of Koel river is like 'Horizon' to them.
Rise and go to work, come back as the day falls.
After rigorously working whole day in Rourkela town, now it was time to go back to the safest place they know, their own home across the river. 
 


Like every day, "The skipper" slowly maneuvered his small boat and parked it safely touching the stairs of Ghat, keeping her floated on the steady flow of muddy water. 

One one end, it was sheer silence.
Though soiled, water was still capable of reflecting the bright sky and rusty texture of the boat.
The other side was a topsy-turvydom, an impatient wait, and a clumsy end to the day.
For some, it was time to devise a strategy to get a place in the small boat.
For some, it was the holy time, time to shred all the evil body (and mind, hopefully) did during daytime.
 For one, it was a time to earn for one last time in a day and............
 for one, it was an easy-to-do job, to pass the personal responsibility to public !


Meanwhile, the un-biased minds, quite unaware about what happening on either end, were enjoying the moment.
The innocent and cheering smile is still there on the face at the end of the day.  


And the moment came, when the boatman asked the commuters to get on board. Cycles lifted in the air, everybody rushed and the chaos grew up. 
Struggle was all about to get a place in 'this' trip. 
Otherwise wait could stretch by twenty ruthless minutes ! 


After accommodating the maximum passengers, just below the safety limit, boat took about turn and started the most-wanted journey.
Journey to experience the climax of wait.
The time to cross the river bed. The worst ever period.
But the boatman never want it to prolong. He has a very little time.
It was just the beginning, he has to transfer many of them, to earn more !



This story repeats endlessly, almost everyday, on many such Ghats of Koel river.
Someone tried to stop it, but the flooding took away the bridge while it was being built.
Many villages like 'Mitikundri' are just a river-bed away from municipal boundary of Rourkela, the third largest city of Odisha.

Safe place is still miles away for the villagers !






Interesting? then please have a look at similar photo story: Transportation in Rourkela. 








Wednesday Post !


Wednesday Post !



Description: A man travelling by a passenger railway in India



Wordless Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, ABC Wednesday (J for Journey )




Florid Red : Thursday Challenge



Florid Red

Ixora flowers @ NIT Rourkela



Thursday Challenge: Flower

Visit here for more flowers.


Campus Nature Diary: Its blooming in NIT Rourkela campus



Campus Nature Diary: Its blooming in NIT Rourkela campus (September 14)



Blooming lotus all over the small pond

Balsam Available in four colors, and offer is for very short period. 









planted varieties of roses.





Silver Cockscomb : waiting to to turn pink



My interview in Monday Morning

A Revitalizing Dialogue with an Enigmatic Guru - 

----------------------- My interview in Monday Morning-----------------------


Written by: Srinidhi Ranganathan,Poulami Banerjee


Thank you Srinidhi, Poulami and Monday Morning team.




At times, we find the need to seek guidance from a young and energetic professor, someone who is capable enough to identify with our day-to-day hurdles and advise us in practical terms. Dr Paresh Kale, Professor from the Department of Electrical Engineering, is a savior to a number of students who find solace in his compassionate and amiable personality. Dr. Kale knows the thin line of difference between friendliness and discipline, and he handles his classes with an appropriate dose of both. A technologically sound figure, he encourages his students to mail him electronic coursework, instead of spending hours in manual labor. These traits set him apart from the regular crop of professors. In a rendezvous with this charismatic professor, team MM explores this dynamic personality.


Hailing from a family that lacked financial stability, and being an average student, engineering came upon him as fate, rather than a choice. While his heart lay in pursuing a degree in law, the persuasion of his father eventually led him to engineering. His father’s job in the state electricity board appeared as a safety net for a graduate degree in electrical engineering; hence he enrolled in an undergraduate program in Mumbai University. He completed his degree with a stellar score and worked for three years before appearing for the GATE exam managing to bag a seat at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. During his post graduation an excellent project came along his way and therefore, he turned down high paying jobs with a view to pursue his doctoral thesis.

Elucidating his experience at IIT Bombay, he expressed the cultural disparity between IITB and NITR. At IIT Bombay one could have a cup of coffee at midnight or work on his research project till 2am; such an atmosphere isn’t prevalent at NITR. He pointed out several factors of IITB that are conducive in achieving excellence for a technical institution; the first and foremost of it being the favorable geographical location. The institute is not only located in a metropolitan city that has all sorts of communication facilities, but also seated amidst headquarters of prominent industries which results in a substantial inflow of consultancy projects. It is also a recipient of massive funds from alumni consultancy finances and HRD budgets. Social and communication skills among the PG and doctoral candidates at NIT are also incongruous as compared to IITB. NITR unfortunately doesn’t enjoy such a scenario and though the institute has a pretty good student quality, it fails to bring out their potentials to the forefront owing to a dearth in facilities and exposure that its counterpart IITB has. Having said that, he appreciated the ambience of Rourkela city and enriched cultural integrity of the students.

“A courteous ‘namaskar’ that a professor receives here is seldom witnessed in a city like Mumbai.”
Prof Kale is not only a fine academician but is also a poet, writer, fantastic photographer and an active blogger. His blog, “Virtuous Quatrains” showcases his copious talents. This vivid side of his life has a motivating concept behind it. Prof Kale believes in being sensitive and compassionate to the persisting environment and social issues around us and says we must encapsulate the day to day occurrences through one way or the other. His way of expressing his thoughts and perspectives on such issues is through penning down stories, poems and indulging in photography. Prof Kale encourages his students to discover their paths of expression too.

While doing his doctoral research he realized that he didn’t desire to be a conventional engineer working from 8am to 6pm at an industry and having no time for himself. Thus he decided to make his debut as a professor. Dr. Kale says that professorship caters to all his expectations from a job, it pays enough to lead a good lifestyle, his creative side is satiated by new research projects and most importantly he has time to explore other facets of his life. He is one of the few people who place a wholesome life above monetary prospects
Elaborating on the scope of research in India, Prof Kale states that being a populous country, we have a command on how the market is driven and we should exploit this authority. As of today, the market is dominated by foreign companies and hence R&D’s of these countries are more productive owing to the supply-demand phenomenon. But the future for Indian research organizations look bright. He doesn’t deny problems in the system here, like corruption, low funds, politics, sluggish government etc. but confidence is key and a scientist should believe in himself, says Prof Kale.
When asked about enhancements he wished to see in NITR, he said he is happy that some reforms like good infrastructure are on the wheels and he would like to see more professionalism in the institute. He agrees that the institute faces a major setback due to lack of air connectivity and says once this issue is resolved there’ll be no bound to the growth of NITR.

Research is about patience. One should believe in his ideas and find the right people and place to materialize it.
Get up and start working!
are Prof Kale’s words of wisdom to the NITR junta.

Link to the article originally published: 


काही कथा - भाग ५

काही कथा - भाग ५



एकदा एका राजाने आपल्या राज्यातील लोकांना दोन हिरे दाखवले आणि त्यातला खरा हिरा कोणता हे ओळखावयास सांगितले.

पण कोणालाच ते सांगता येईना. शेवटी एक अंध व्यक्ती तिथे आला व म्हणाला, 'मी सांगतो तुम्हाला त्यातील खरा हिरा कोणता तो.' 

अंध व्यक्ती ते दोन्ही हिरे बाहेर घेऊन आला. त्याने ते दोन्ही हिरे थोडा वेळ सूर्यप्रकाशात ठेवले व नंतर तो ते दोन्ही हिरे घेऊन राजाकडे आला व त्याला खरा हिरा दाखवला. राजा आश्चर्यचकित झाला, कारण अंध व्यक्तीनं योग्य हिरा ओळखला होता. 

त्या वेळी त्याला याबद्दल विचारले गेले तेव्हा त्याने सांगितले, 'जो खरा हिरा असतो तो कधीही गरम होत नाही, काच मात्र गरम होते. गरम होऊन ती तडकतेसुद्धा. पण हिरा मात्र तसाच राहतो. म्हणूनच तर तो अनमोल असतो.'











एका मुलाने कृष्णमूर्तींना विचारले, 'आम्हाला खेळण्यात जितका आनंद वाटतो तितका आनंद अभ्यासात का वाटत नाही?' 

त्यावर त्यांनी उत्तर दिले, 'एखादी गायिका एखाद्या गावात गाण्याचा कार्यक्रम करण्यापूर्वी हजारो तास रियाज करते. गाणे तिचे श्वास झालेले असते, म्हणूनच लोक तिचे गाणे नंतर अनेक दिवस गुणगुणत राहतात. 

बाळा, तुझे शिक्षक जेव्हा त्यांच्या शिकवण्यावर प्रेम करतील तेव्हा शिकणे हे तुझ्यासाठी खेळण्यातकेच आनंदाचे बनले असेल.'














गोष्ट आहे सीताफळांच्या बिया साठवणाऱ्या एका वयस्कर माणसाची 

अकलूज गावचा हा माणूस गेली ३० ते ३५ वर्षे सीताफळांच्या बिया साठवतो मुंबईला पुण्याला कामानिमित्त जावं लागतं तो पिशवी भरून त्या घेतो आणि जाताना घाटात गाडी थांबते तिथं तिथं दरीत फेकून देतो हल्ली त्या घाटावर पाट्यांमध्ये पिकलेली सीताफळं घेऊन अनेकजण विक्रीला बसलेले असतात 



अलीकडे या माणसानं खास त्यांच्याकडे जाऊन विचारलं , ' कुठून आणता ही सीताफळं ?' ' तुमचे मळे आहेत का ?' 

कुठले मळे साहेब आम्ही गरीब माणसं लोक घाटात शेकड्यानं बिया टाकतात झाडं उगवलीत दरीत सारं फुकटच आम्ही फळं गोळा करतो पिकवतो आणि तुम्हाला विकतो 


शेकडो गरीब कुटुंब चालतात यावर इकडची .' त्या विक्रेत्याकडं गहिवरल्या डोळ्यानं पहात हीव्यक्ती डझनभर सीताफळं विकत घेते पुन्हा बिया गोळा करून घाटात फेकण्यासाठी 










एकदा एका राजाकडून काहीतरी प्रमाद घडला आणि त्याचं प्रायश्चित म्हणून एक दिवस याचक होऊन ‌भिक्षा मागण्याची शिक्षा त्यास मिळाली. 

त्याप्रमाणे राजा भिक्षा मागण्यासाठी सकाळी सकाळी राजपथावर आला. त्याचवेळेस समोरून एक भिकारी ही भिक्षा मागायला त्याच वाटेवरून येत होता. त्यानं राजाला पाहिलं. आता राजाकडे भिक्षा मागून आपल्याला आपलं दारिद्र्य कायमचं दूर करता येईल, असा विचार त्याच्या मनात आला. काय मागावं याचा तो विचार करत असतानाच राजा त्याच्यासमोर आला. 

राजानं भिक्षेसाठी हात पुढे केला. राजाचं ते याचकाचं रूप बघून त्या भिकाऱ्यानं आपल्या कर्माला दोष दिला आणि आपल्या झोळीतील चार दाणे राजासमोर टाकले. 

निराशेनं घरी येऊन त्यानं झोळी फेकली. आणि आश्चर्याने तो बघतच राहिला. 


त्याने जेवढे दाणे भिक्षा म्हणून दिले होते, फक्त तेवढेच दाणे सोन्याचे झाले होते! सर्वच दाणे राजाला का दिले नाही म्हणून तो स्वतःच्या नशिबाला दोष देत राहिला.










Note: Stories are collected from internet pages and edited. Stories are published on the blog merely to inspire people. No copyright violation intended.